Parental Alienation

Books by PASG Members

Many PASG members are faculty members of universities in the United States and other countries. They have engaged in extensive clinical work and research regarding parental alienation. As a group, they have published hundreds of scholarly papers, book chapters, and books, some of which are listed here.

A Family’s Heartbreak: A Parent’s Introduction to Parental Alienation, is the true story of one parent’s struggle to maintain a normal, loving relationship with his young son in the face of overwhelming odds. From the emotionally devastating actions of the child’s other parent, to a court system and mental health community ill-equipped to deal with this destructive family dynamic, A Family’s Heartbreak: A Parent’s Introduction to Parental Alienation, is both an education in parental alienation and an eye opening experience for parents who don’t believe this could happen to them.

People influence each other every day, but manipulation is the abuse of influence over another person, the targeting and exploiting of another’s emotional and mental weaknesses. Hirigoyen analyzes scenarios of manipulation as she explores complex distinctions between “appropriate” and “inappropriate” influence. One of the vignettes in the book pertains to parental alienation.

Abuse & Betrayal is author Richard Joseph’s deeply personal autobiographical account of his experiences with marriage, divorce, and the effects of his ex-wife’s behavior. Sure to strike a chord with anyone who has ever been in a dysfunctional relationship or divorce situation, it follows the couple from happy beginnings to their tumultuous divorce, and describes the abuse and alienation Richard faced during and after the marriage.

Richard’s narration touches upon sensitive topics such as the emergence of his ex-wife’s narcissistic personality, her obsession with status, and the inappropriate behavior she exhibited. But the most raw and exposed of his passages are those dedicated to describing his ex-wife’s attempts at alienating him from his daughters, which makes Abuse & Betrayal a story not just about Richard’s divorce, but also about his feelings and efforts toward parenting and fatherhood.

Filling a void in the media market, Abuse & Betrayal delivers a story uniquely told from the male perspective and draws attention to important issues that too often get swept under the rug. Through Richard’s encounters with lawyers, the courts, and prison, it raises questions about the fairness of the divorce process in our country and speaks to the biases in the legal and judicial systems.

Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) occurs when divorcing parents use children as pawns, trying to turn the child against the other parent. This book examines the impact of PAS on adults and offers strategies and hope for dealing with the long-term effects.

Parental alienation is one of the most debated issues in recent years in separation/divorce and child custody. This phenomenon is considered a relational problem that involves the entire triad of father-mother-child, all of whom, with their contribution, allows the establishment of a highly dysfunctional family process with a concrete risk for the involved child. The book highlights the contributions of various authors allowing for scientific and methodological comparison, even with different points of view. The experts offer practical insights on a theme that is still controversial in the courts of Italy. The authors highlight psychosocial solutions to be taken to counter parental alienation, which is now universally recognized, but still very difficult to curb because of the difficulty of implementing interventions.

In 1995 there were over 2 million unfounded reports of child abuse and neglect in America. Has our child “protection” system become itself a kind of family abuse industry? Are legitimate abuse complaints neglected due to a plethora of false accusations? Where would you turn for bona fide help if wrongly accused of child abuse? How would you disprove abuse that never happened in the first place? Can your attorney navigate your case through a web of social agency and courtroom procedures and practices? Ashes To Ashes, Families To Dust will answer these questions and more. False accusations of child abuse debase and demean the innocent adult and create harm for the very children that laws were designed to protect. All social service libraries, social work library schools, and public library systems should have this title available for both those who hope to dedicate themselves to the genuine problems of child abuse, and the equally severe problems of those wrongfully accused of such a despicable practice.

The name of the book is The Child’s Right to Family Life. If a child is separated from a parent whom the child was attached to and loved, then the child’s psychological and emotional development, as well as the child’s health, is destroyed. It is a mental abuse situation, which is not identified as such by the child. The child has to ally himself to the parent whom the child depends on, and reject the other parent. In many cases, the alienating parent gets support both from social authorities and from the legal system. The child incorporates an unfounded and false belief about the other parent and starts joining the condemnation. The child demonstrates the acquired aversion by refusing all kinds of contact, often also with the grandparents on the rejected parents’ side. This process, parental alienation, is not unusual in severe custody conflicts. It violates the child’s legal and human right to family life. Twenty-five Swedish cases of sever parental alienation are presented.

Nothing can be buried forever, no matter how much you would like it to be. Eventually, the past always looks around the corner. Lisanne has a particular grudge, such that she must return to her youth and the angry divorce of her parents. Lisanne talks to a psychologist, after which she opens her invisible box of sadness. Subsequently, Lisanne’s quest for herself results in finding an adult woman without pushing her youthful experiences out of her mind.

Thousands of judges, attorneys, and court personnel have to deal with experts in the behavioral sciences every day. Expert testimony from behavioral scientists (psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers) is the fastest growing area of expertise in American courts. The U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Daubert, Joiner, and Kumho Tire have profoundly altered the rules of evidence regarding expert testimony. Recent research demonstrates that the judges, attorneys, and court personnel required to implement those changes have little understanding of how to do this with the behavioral sciences. The Federal Rules of Evidence have just been amended to reflect the changes wrought by the Daubert, Joiner, Kumho Tire trilogy. And yet there are no guidelines, practice books, or judicial decision-making manuals that even remotely speak to “gatekeeping” responsibilities with the behavioral sciences. Lorandos and Campbell provide immediate access to authoritative information and immediate decision-making tools for judges, attorneys, and court personnel. It is also a comprehensive text with immediate utility as a decision-making tool. Extensively researched in law and the sciences, Benchbook in Behavioral Sciences provides up-to-date legal and scientific data to aid judges, attorneys, and court personnel in their daily decision-making with expert reports and testimony.

The companion to Darnall’s bestselling Divorce Casualties, Beyond Divorce Casualties is a workbook for severely alienated children and their parents. The book describes the how and why of unification therapy, how to prepare for reunification, how to effectively work with attorneys, mediators, parent coordinators and counselors, and even how to say “goodbye” if reunification is not possible. This book also provides many real life examples of alienating behavior, exercises, and specific instructions for how to change your feelings and behavior. Importantly, the book’s underlying assumption is that you have the power to change even if you have no power to change the other parent.

This is about parental abduction and parental alienation (PAS). It was written to expose the flaws and loopholes in the Hague Convention and the dramatic rise in parental abduction in the last 10 years. This book exposes the phenomenon of PAS which is too poorly recognized in the family courts today. It is devastating the lives of young children and target parents. These effects often are long-term on the children which extends into adulthood. It is about the injustices that are endemic in the family law system which involves judges, lawyers, psychologists, and court-appointed therapists. It shows how the legal system is fundamentally flawed, and the costs of all this are crippling.

The arrival of Child Custody Evaluations by Social Workers: Understanding the Five Stages of Custody fills what was previously a void in the child welfare literature by defining the parameters of child custody and advocating the use of a stages model to conduct custody evaluations. Because social workers understand the significance of ecological models and holistic practices for child development, the profession has always played a critical role in conceptualizing and implementing effective child custody evaluations. Therefore, it is fitting that this important work, authored by a veteran social worker, is now available for social work practitioners and legal professionals seeking guidance for best practices in conducting mental health evaluations that serve the ultimate goal of protecting and promoting the optimal development of children and families.

Ken Lewis has written a book that has vital significance for the child welfare field, recommended for teachers as a textbook for any college course on social work and the law and as an instructional guide for practitioners in seminars and workshops on child custody evaluation. This book may be purchased from the author at: DRKENLEWIS@SNIP.NET

Essential reading for any mental health professional who is currently involved in custody cases as well as those who are considering work in the family law arena. The author uses his unique perspective as both a psychologist and attorney to delineate standards for practice when providing services to children and families when there are custody disputes. He describes the ethical issues, legal risks, and appropriate safeguards for providing services in child custody cases and defines the core areas for custody evaluations, including: child development, family relations, parenting skills, psychopathology, family systems and dysfunction, and the ruling-out of child abuse. The author stresses the importance of clarifying professional roles and functions. Specialized intervention and assessment strategies are presented as well as management issues, legal concerns, and guidelines for testimony. Includes over 100 valuable summary guidelines and caution. This is also a valuable resource for judges and attorneys who must evaluate the extent to which testimony by mental health practitioners is ethical, appropriate, and consistent with accepted practice standards. Also contains useful information for divorced and divorcing parents.

The legal aspects of child mental health have changed in recent years, yet many who deal professionally with disturbed children are ill informed about the rights and responsibilities of minors. Child Mental Health and the Law addresses the need for a comprehensive, up-to-date text that describes the evolution of child mental health law and the relevance of the law to the child mental health clinician. Separate chapters deal with the legal issues presented by custody disputes, accusations of abuse and neglect, special education, civil liability suits, juvenile delinquency, and the voluntary and involuntary treatment of minors. Also included are sections on malpractice and the rights of institutionalized children. The authors, one a psychiatrist and developmental researcher, one a legal scholar, pay special attention to the role of the clinician as expert witness in court cases, and to the relationships (too often poor) between mental health professionals, attorneys, and judges. As the authors show, there has been little effective communication between those who study child development and those who make laws to regulate children’s welfare. or these professionals, the book provides a clear, jargon-free description of the scientific status of psychology and psychiatry in orderto help them in their interpretation of the research findings and expert testimony.

This book speaks to the adults who deal with children of divorce–parents, therapists, attorneys, and judges–and gets them all on the same page. The authors believe that parents and professionals should be able to communicate with a common language regarding the children of divorce. This book contains much specific advice on how to achieve basic goals: children should have a good relationship with both parents; divorced parents should find ways to make life as normal as possible for their children; and divorced parents and their children should accept the inevitable losses and disappointments and move on with their lives. Children of Divorce is organized around the use of parenting plans, agreements that are developed through the collaboration of the parents rather than imposed by a judge.

There’s no question about it: your children are the most important thing in your life. But if you have gone through a messy divorce, your relationship with your children may become strained if you have to deal with a toxic ex. Your ex may bad-mouth you in front of the kids, accuse you of being a bad parent, and even attempt to replace you in the children’s lives with a new partner. As a result, your children may become confused, conflicted, angry, anxious, or depressed—and you may feel powerless.

In Co-parenting with a Toxic Ex, a nationally recognized parenting expert offers you a positive parenting approach to dealing with a hostile ex-spouse. You’ll learn to avoid the most common mistakes of coparenting, how to avoid “parental alienation syndrome,” and effective techniques for talking to your children in a way that fosters open and honest response. In addition, you’ll learn how to protect your children from painful loyalty conflicts between you and your ex-spouse.

Divorce is often painful, especially if your ex habitually tries to undermine your relationship with your children. But with the right tools you can protect your kids and make your relationship with them stronger than ever. This book can show you how.

Creating a Successful Parenting Plan is an award-winning guide on how to successfully create a comprehensive parenting plan for parental custody in court. Often parents vying for custody do not know what to ask for or the important legal terms in order to make a solid case, and many cannot afford legal representation. This guide teaches parents everything they need to know about creating a solid case, including key legal terminology and specific, valid requests which the court can act upon.

The system of divorce and custody over a child can have lasting negative impacts on the child. The welfare of both the child and the parents is harmed in this process of split parenting. Shared parenting – that is, the continued care for the child from both parents – can remedy the emotional impacts of divorce. This book explains a child’s right to live with both parents and the parents’ right to exercise full parenthood, even after divorce.

Cross Examining Experts in the Behavioral Sciences provides step-by-step guidance on how to refute behavioral scientists’ conjecture and speculation to ensure favorable rulings on Daubert, Kuhmo Tire and Frye standards. This set integrates hundreds of questioning strategies and actual questions to help you save time preparing your cases. It helps you keep pace with the fastest growing area of expert witness work with: Demonstrations on how to examine and challenge the expertise of mental health experts and the use of psychological tests Examinations of both the scientific research and the legal aspects behind a mental health expert’s testimony.

This book’s purpose is to better portray divorced fatherhood and to provide family practitioners and policymakers with an empirically based understanding of the impact of divorce on non-custodial fathers, and of fathers’ disengagement from their children after divorce.

Some parents consciously, blatantly, and even maliciously denigrate their ex-spouse through negative comments and actions. Others simply sigh or tense up at the mention of the targeted parent, causing guilt and anxiety in the children. The result is a child full of hate, fear, and rejection toward an unknowing and often undeserving parent.

Exploring issues such as secrecy, spying, false accusations, threats and discipline, Divorce Casualties recognizes the often subtle causes of alienation, teaching you to prevent or minimize its damaging effects on your children. Dr. Darnall’s practical techniques for understanding the effects of alienation, including characteristics of alienators, symptoms of alienators, a self-report inventory and exercises, and real-life examples, will help even the most well-intentioned of parents renew their commitment to helping their child maintain a healthy, happy relationship with both parents.

Once mainly breadwinners and disciplinarians, fathers are becoming increasingly involved and invested in their children’s lives. Examining how this changing role has affected fathers’ experiences of divorce and the loss of guardianship that too often follows, this exploration offers a glimpse into the emotional state and perspectives of fathers during the divorce transition. Ultimately, this account states that children benefit most from the love and support of both parents and argues for active parenting following divorce.

From their loving mother’s warm embrace to the stinging lash of their father’s leather belt, things changed rapidly for Brendan and JP when their parents separated. They were just eight and ten years of age at the time. Any hopes of their mother saving them from their torment were dashed when she was then torn from their lives. Don’t Hug Your Mother takes you on a dramatic journey through Brendan and JP’s difficult childhood as they recount episodes of their dark past in harrowing detail. It is a compelling, heart-breaking and ultimately uplifting true story of how two young boys grew up and learnt to confront evil and follow their hearts.

Recounting two cases of parental alienation in the Familiar Meeting Point Service of Seville, an organization that facilitates the measures agreed upon by Spanish family courts with divorced families, Tejedor Huerta exposes this syndrome as a form of child abuse with detrimental psychological consequences. Tejedor Huerta also suggests methods of intervention to prevent further psychological strain on the children.

Elusive Innocence assists parents wrongly accused of abuse and their attorneys, as well as child protective investigators during their intake assessments, therapists, and judges. From actual case studies including the author’s, to chapters on the accused, accuser, alleged child victim, and agencies; to a detailed road map on how to counter unfounded and false child abuse and/or domestic violence allegations; to borderline personality disorder and parental alienation; and to sections on how to choose the right lawyer, Daubert and Frye criteria, and “Consistent With What, Exactly?” Elusive Innocence is the all-in-one handbook every parent, defense attorney, prosecutor, judge, therapist, social worker, teacher, and police officer should read.

Going through a divorce with children is like learning to dance in a mine field and expecting not to get hurt. Ex’s & Oh’s takes you through the journey of parental alienation, giving you the tools needed to find joy, healing, and restoration in the darkest times. Parental alienation can be the darkest element in a divorce proceeding that often cuts off parents and extended family members from their children or grandchildren. The process leads to depression, financial despair, and in some cases even suicide. The goal for Ex’s & Oh’s is to bring life, freedom, and restoration to individuals and families impacted by parental alienation.

This is the Italian version of Dr. Baker’s book, Children Divided: Stories of Emotional Manipulation of Parents Toward Their Children. The consequences of parental alienation syndrome can be long-lasting and detrimental. Baker addresses these adverse effects through a series of interviews with adult victims of PAS. These victims recall their experiences as manipulated children and give retrospective insight to the damages wrought by PAS.

Dr. Monty Weinstein grew up in a wealthy family that made its millions off the grid and most definitely illegally. He was the birth son of a notorious mobster, and hustled his way through his teen-age years packing a pistol that was supplied by his very own father. He was encouraged to show it off while he made the rounds collecting the “rent” that small business owners reluctantly turned over to him as part of his summer job. He felt powerful, cocky, intimidating and proud, at least for a few weeks. Then he began to feel weary, hopeless and ashamed. He didn’t like the guilt that was settling into his soul. When the guilt started keeping him awake at night, he started to ponder what else might be out there for him. Young Monty was somehow able to bumble his way through high school, and once settled into college, found his spark of new beginnings in a philosophy class. He became focused and devoted to strengthening the family unit. Once Dr. Monty broke free from his past, he was able to create a successful, rewarding career as a marriage and family therapist. It was during his experiences as a marriage and family therapist where he began to realize that some parents going through divorce were being severely alienated by their ex-spouses, and children were being brainwashed and literally turned against the other parent. Parental alienation syndrome is a phenomenon that is calculated and widespread across all races and socioeconomic boundaries. Children are systematically and methodically turned against the other parent. It is an epidemic that is slowly being recognized nationwide. Dr. Monty has made it his business to uncover the truth and create more awareness that this phenomenon is occurring worldwide.

This workbook, specifically designed for children, guides kids amid divorce and parental conflict on how to healthily understand, identify, and deal with the different difficulties that arise when parents divorce or conflict with each other. Some scenarios and topics include what to do when one parent tries to turn the children against the other parent, what to do when one parent seeks another spouse, and how to deal with the emotional hardships during a divorce.

The purpose of this book — Practical Guide of Action Before the Impediment of Contact with Children — is to provide concepts that allow a divorced parent with minor children, without experience in family litigation, to be placed within the unknown world of the legal and social, to be linked with the children. This book shows how to participate actively in the defense of your rights and those of your children, know your obligations, know how to bond with lawyers, psychologists, and judicial officials, and recognize the environment with which you will have to deal for a long time.

Half the Child takes place over four consecutive summers in the lives of Michael Mullen and his son Benjamin, who ages from 2½ to 5½. The novel chronicles the separation, divorce, custody battle, and abduction that threaten to tear apart father and son. Mike is a 34-year-old air traffic controller at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport who is also pursuing a graduate degree in Psychology. He and Ben’s mother were married for less than five years when she suddenly decided to seek a divorce. Throughout these four summers the legal stakes keep dramatically increasing, as mediation devolves into litigation, and her romantic and career aspirations spur her to first take Ben to Indiana, and then to abduct him and resettle outside the U.S. For Mike, the cost of asserting his rights as a father and Ben’s rights as a son continues to escalate. Over the course of the four summers, the battle for Ben negatively affects Mike’s career, education, financial state, friendships, romantic life, physical health, and emotional well-being. Ultimately, refusing to relinquish his parental rights leads Mike to personal bankruptcy, temporary homelessness, potentially catastrophic errors at work, and suicidal depression. Yet Mike steadfastly refuses to consider a life that consists of him living apart from Ben. With courts continually ruling against Ben’s father, it remains uncertain if their bond will survive. Ultimately, they will write their own love story.

A Handbook containing description of the theoretical basis for study of parental acceptance and rejection, interpersonal relationships, and mental health outcomes related to these relationships. Measures to assess parent-child relations, intimate partner relations, behavioral control, discipline, parenting education, and other issues are included in the Fourth Edition of the Handbook.

The name of the book is Secrets and Memories. This book serves to guide lawyers of sex crime cases in court. It reveals the necessity to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the alleged sexual crimes and obtain an adequate basis for deciding guilt. The book also points out the different stages of a sex crime case and the roles of the people involved in the case. It includes excerpts from witnesses in four different sex cases, including cases of incest rape.

This book analyzes the episodes of parental alienation and familial conflict and how its effects on each family member – especially the children – progress over time, leading to psychological disorders as the final result for the children. The book also explores the most common causes of alienation and healthy, effective ways for the alienated parent to recover their bond with their children.

This is an easy-to-understand guide for divorced and separated parents, as well as for mental health professionals, legal professionals, and the general public. This book explains how to understand and recognize parental alienation, which is a form of child abuse that is occurring worldwide. Parental alienation occurs when a parent, motivated by revenge or defiance, manipulates a child to reject or hate the other parent. The intention of the alienating parent is to prevent, hinder, or destroy the child’s links with the other parent. The author of the book, Gladys Monge, reflects on her personal experience when she lost two sons through divorce and her struggle in the courts. Gladys Monge is a survivor of parental alienation.

This is a scholarly analysis of the complex and controversial task of conducting a reasonable child custody evaluation. The author provides an interesting review and analysis of the relevant scientific and legal literature and provides some useful practical suggestions for moving forward. This book will be helpful to practitioners who want to learn more about child custody evaluations.

This work explains the psychological consequences of parental separation on the child and the family mediation and individualized aid to attenuate those consequences. The book includes an updated edition of laws of parental authority and alternating residence. The book also includes a comparison of the results of studies conducted over the last 12 years.

Two veteran psychiatrists unravel the mystery of how thought and emotional patterns are passed from parents to children, generation after generation, “conditioning” each of us in ways that endure throughout our lives and affect all of our relationships. Living on Automatic explores a groundbreaking concept developed by two psychiatrists with 80 years of combined experience in dynamic psychotherapy with almost 2,000 patients. The book offers strategies to help readers liberate themselves from limiting ways of relating to others, avoid automatic emotional responses, live life with intention, and create happier relationships. The authors bring to life the principles presented through vignettes from dynamic psychotherapy treatment. The book is inclusive of the LGBT experience.

The concept of parental alienation has often been misunderstood. It continues to be necessary to educate mental health professionals, legal practitioners, and the general public about parental alienation, which is a great hardship for many children, teenagers, and their parents. Gladys Monge advocates in Puerto Rico on behalf of families that have been affected by parental alienation. Her book, Madre sin Hijos, Hijos sin Madre, will help readers who want to learn about this important topic.

This book explores the hypothesis that children can be manipulated by one of their parents to hate and reject the other parent, and presents a thorough assessment on the Spanish situation at the legal, psychological, and social levels. This is a fundamental text for all magistrates, lawyers, doctors, psychologists, and educators who daily find themselves with these situationse to which a minor can be subjected. The editors and contributors for this book include PASG members José Manuel Aguilar Cuenca, Enric Carbó Sanchís, Arantxa Coca Vila, Asunción Tejedor Huerta, Paul Bensussan, and Michael Bone.

The evaluation of the parenting is a multidisciplinary activity, with contributions from clinical psychology, child development, neuropsychiatry, family psychology, social psychology, and forensic psychiatry. There are operational applications that can result in different levels of psychosocial intervention. The authors have developed a tool called APS-I (Assessment of Parental Skills-Interview), aimed at evaluating specific behaviors (current and “visible”) that define the basic functions related to the exercise of actual parenting. This tool serves to steer the evaluator toward the most significant areas in the interview with the parent. The answers to the questions are analyzed according to two distinct criteria: firstly, evaluating the behaviors that the parent has described; secondly, using quality parameters to explore the degree of understanding that the subject has about the importance of that area.

This timely collection written from a social work perspective includes original chapters by leading experts in specific fields of mediation and conflict resolution. Each chapter examines a field of practice, describes the actual mediation/conflict resolution process, considers current debates and research, and provides alternatives to mediation. Gender, race, class, and cultural diversity issues are integrated throughout the text, with a separate chapter addressing mediation and multicultural reality.

This book (Knots and Joints in Parental Alienation: New Psychoforensic Tools for the Protection of Children’s Rights) deals with parental alienation through a new point of view: that of the child and how it perceives itself, the father, and mother in the new condition of a divided family. The book describes the phases of office consultancy with a practical guide on possible questions to ask and errors to avoid, with a focus on the most effective judicial measures to be taken to protect children. Two innovative themes are addressed by the authors: the first concerns the methodology of psychological support for parents rejected by their children; the second concerns two treatment programs for the recovery of the broken relationship between the child and the rejected parent.

This book — Obstruction of the Bond of Grandchildren with Their Grandparents — explains common questions and doubts regarding these important relationships. The book discusses relevant modifications in the law, comparing the old and new laws and the central changes of the new Commercial Civil Code. It provides a typical schedule for visitation with grandparents.

An acclaimed spokesperson for equality at the helm of And Baby, a pioneer magazine, radio show, and TV series on alternative parenting, Michelle Darné found herself at once callously erased from the lives of her children and silenced by the law. Parent Deleted is a gripping tale of one non-biological, lesbian mother’s fight for her children. And it is a courageous, disturbing, and necessary exposé of a likely emergent social justice frontier: the rights of all children to be with their parents, whether they are biologically linked, straight, gay, prepared or knocked up, perfect spouses or fallible ones.

Our government is forced to become involved in struggling families and their adult offspring at the cost of 23% of state and 45% of county expenditures that flow largely from our federal income taxes. One-third of our children and youth are failing in some aspect of their lives. The United States is at the top of the list of developed nations in child abuse and neglect and the bottom in educational achievement. Five children die every day from abuse. Three million referrals are made to child protective services every year. Parents who raise a productive citizen contribute $1.4 million to our economy. Parents who abuse and/or neglect a child who becomes a criminal or welfare dependent cost our economy $2.8 million. Without concerted action, every American taxpayer will continue to pay for these consequences. The framework for action is in Parent Power: The Key to America’s Prosperity. For humanitarian and financial reasons, and for our nation’s prosperity, we must remove government from family lives by preventing the formation of, and reducing the number of, struggling families in the United States. We can do this by ensuring that every newborn baby has an opportunity to succeed in life by limiting the custody of newborn babies to persons who are not under the custody of others themselves. Only by fulfilling the right of all newborn babies to have competent parents will the United States ensure its prosperity.

This product is ideal for anyone who wants to understand the facts about parental alienation. In particular this product is geared toward arming parents who wonder if they are experiencing alienation with all the information they need to make the best of a difficult, potentially inflammatory situation.

Starting with the ‘Case of Effi Briest,’ as a depiction of PAS in the conditions of 19th century society, the author elaborates the pathogenic consequences of parental alienation, drawing extensively on case studies. He describes this particular form of emotional abuse with its effects both on the children concerned and on the alienated parent. This book can raise the awareness of psychiatrists and psychotherapists to the pathogenesis of adults affected by divorce or separation in their childhood, who exhibit problems relating to self-esteem, identity and relationships, and of parents who sometimes suffer from psychosomatic symptoms or suicidal crises after their children have been induced by abusive programming to break off relations with them.

Using letters from persons affected and transcribed interviews, the author illustrates the eight key symptoms of parental alienation syndrome as identified by R. Gardner, highlighting the need for greater attention to these hitherto neglected biographical aspects of a patient’s medical history. Induced alienation syndrome leads to confusion on the part of the child with regard to their self-perception and their perception by others, to an excessive adherence to the lead of the alienating parent, on whom the child is wholly dependent, to identity diffusion and a false self. The targeted parents predominantly suffer from a sense of powerlessness, especially if institutions, such as youth welfare offices, family courts or even ‘expert witnesses’, ignore or seek to play down the manipulations carried out by the alienating parent.

This highly readable book also points to numerous areas that call for research in the fields of psychotraumatology, psychosomatics and adult psychiatry. It serves to immunize (child) psychiatrists and psychotherapists against possible instrumentalisation by alienating parents to obtain improper treatment or reports in custody and access disputes. The text is extensively annotated, thus providing an overview of nearly 30 years of international research into parental alienation.

Parental alienation is a form of bullying, domestic violence, and psychological abuse that severs normal parent/child bonds. The catastrophic results in children tormented this way can include teen pregnancy, depression, gang involvement, susceptibility to predators, eating disorders, and youth suicide. Immense feelings of helplessness overcome parents whose children have been enlisted in coalitions against them. After devoting their lives to trying to revert this tragedy, some parents who feel their lives have lost their meaning become withdrawn, passive and suicidal. Parental Alienation Survival Coach captures the feelings of shock, confusion and helplessness that parents experience as they are pushed out of their children’s lives, and their desperate struggle for education to understand what’s happening. Follow along on every alienated parent’s journey from crushing heartbreak, to wellness, despite significant open wounds. Chapters alternate from sad, to funny, to inspirational, to hopeful and include healing, humor, heart, prayers, verses, self-care and an exclusive 6-step program!

Parental alienation is an important phenomenon that mental health professionals should know about and thoroughly understand, especially those who work with children, adolescents, divorced adults, and adults whose parents divorced when they were children. In this book, the authors define parental alienation as a mental condition in which a child – usually one whose parents are engaged in a high-conflict divorce – allies himself or herself strongly with one parent (the preferred parent) and rejects a relationship with the other parent (the alienated parent) without legitimate justification. This process leads to a tragic outcome when the child and the alienated parent, who previously had a loving and mutually satisfying relationship, lose the nurture and joy of that relationship for many years and perhaps for their lifetimes. The authors of this book believe that parental alienation is not simply a minor aberration in the life of a family, but a serious mental condition. Because of the false belief that the alienated parent is a dangerous or unworthy person, the child loses one of the most important relationships in his or her life. This book includes a comprehensive international bibliography regarding parental alienation with more than 600 citations.

Parental Alienation is a significant contribution to debates on the effects of family breakdown. Drawing on international research, the book discusses the problems for parents and children when parental alienation occurs. It identifies the signs of parental alienation syndrome (PAS). Concerned with the important task of seeking to remedy PAS, author L.F. Lowenstein’s basic principle is that both parents have the right and the responsibility to guide their children appropriately. The book recognizes children need to be protected from the consequences of being alienated from a parent, and that both parents need to be treated fairly by the system. He also addresses the role of the judiciary, where both the experts and the courts need to help parents resolve their differences to safeguard the welfare of their children. Parental Alienation addresses the important issues of mediation and of treatment, including how to identify and treat accusations of abuse, and it discusses the therapeutic methods required in PAS and the psychological assessment/treatment of pathologically induced alienation.

Parental Alienation: The Handbook for Mental Health and Legal Professionals is the essential how to manual in this important and ever increasing area of behavioral science and law. Busy mental health professionals need a reference guide to aid them in developing data sources to support their positions in reports and testimony. They also need to know where to go to find the latest material on a topic. Having this material within arm’s reach will avoid lengthy and time-consuming online research. For legal professionals who must ground their arguments in well thought out motions and repeated citations to case precedent, ready access to state or province specific legal citations spanning thirty-five years of parental alienation cases is provided here for the first time in one place.

This book is the result of joint work of a group of professionals, specialists in studying the ​​family, who have been working tirelessly to try to unravel the progress, conflicts, and limitations of this topic of particular importance. It is within the family in which people develop and which also can limit and violate them, especially the most vulnerable, the children. The main mission of these pages is to address the problem of domestic violence and in particular the mistreatment suffered by those children (not addressed in the current scientific literature) that often get caught up in conflicts that do not belong to them, conflicts of parents who put aside consensus and aspire to win a battle of all will come out losers. Thanks to the active collaboration of tireless experts, this book can be accessed and downloaded for free. The chapter authors are from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, and Paraguay.

When parents separate and divorce, kids come last in family law. Should children’s welfare be measured in “billable hours”? Christine Giancarlo thinks kids come first and need both parents. Parentectomy moves us toward that goal … for the sake of the children. Based on Dr. Giancarlo’s peer-reviewed research study, Kids Come Last: The Effect of Family Law Involvement in Parental Alienation, this book tells, in their own voices, the stories of thirty loving, capable, and dependable parents who were removed from their children’s lives. It is also the author’s own journey through the devastation caused by parental alienation. This book sheds light on an urgent social crisis, enabled by a broken family law system. An equitable and just model for eliminating this form of child abuse is proposed with an urgent plea for its implementation.

This volume presents multiple perspectives on parenthood: ethnologists look at the biology of parenthood, anthropologists discuss the diverse methods of child rearing, psychologists and psychoanalysts examine the process of becoming a parent and how parental pathology affects child rearing.

In Parents Acting Badly, Drs. Jennifer Jill Harman and Zeynep Biringen provide a thorough analysis of how and why parental alienation can insidiously gain momentum over the years, and how parenting stereotypes, gender inequality, and social institutions (such as family courts) all sanction and even promote the problem. Parents Acting Badly represents a paradigm shift in thinking about parental alienation — from a private issue to a public concern. The authors suggest new approaches to addressing this controversial problem that encompasses individual change, as well as social and institutional reforms. The understanding and prevention of parental alienation can help families, societies, and institutions protect the best interests of the child.

Preserving Family Ties was not written to provide a formula for action. Rather, this is a guidebook for understanding. It was written to give a clearer understanding of the complexity in child custody when parents separate. This book provides the historical context for the changes that parents may experience, and what they may fear. This book offers parents and professionals the context in which the new reality unfolds. It was written to help parents understand that one can move forward best when they (1) acknowledge their feelings as they endure so many life changes, often abrupt and unexpected; (2) recognize the obstacles and options in the child custody and divorce process; and (3) seek support from family, friends, and community resources to affect the best transition for parents and their children.

This program provides measures and support material for children, victimized by parental alienation, and their parents in order to facilitate communication and expression between them and ultimately remedy the adverse consequences of parental alienation. Some content includes information that raises awareness to parents about how their conflicts psychologically and behaviorally stunt their children, as well as methods to improve their parenting strategies in order to prevent further damages on the children.

Leading family psychologist, Rebecca Bailey, tells parents how to keep their children safe in this accessible, must-have guidebook. Whether their children are toddlers or teens, six years old or sixteen, whether they live in a rural town, suburb, or a bustling city, all parents worry about threats—from cyber-bullying to exploitation and abduction. What should they tell their children and when? What practical steps can they take to reduce the risks and keep their kids safe? Dr. Rebecca Bailey, with the assistance of her sister and registered nurse, Elizabeth Bailey, gives easily understood, easily followed answers. Safe Kids, Smart Parents builds on Dr. Bailey’s years of experience as a family psychologist helping real families deal with real situations. From abduction to abuse, Bailey explains how parents can speak to their kids about troubling topics while building their self-esteem and teaching them how to protect themselves. A smart, comprehensive, and easy-to-read resource, Safe Kids, Smart Parents is the most important book a parent can own.

This book simply yet rigorously describes the process of one parent’s manipulation of a child to reject the other parent without justification. This was the first book to explain this phenomenon, parental alienation, in Spanish. Consequently, it also became a reference about parental alienation to the Spanish-speaking world.

“Brutally honest,” “guilty indulgence” and “inventive” all describe Gabriel Gilbert’s debut novel, Selfies. The characters narrate this literary adult thriller, each one dangerously blind to the other’s truest nature. Carinda Campbell, a streetwise southern woman, seeks refuge in the wake of her ex-husband’s white collar crimes. Online, she captures the interest of Ray Welles, former Marine and tech entrepreneur, who has just left a soulless marriage and battles traumas old and new. Their explosive chemistry distracts from their children, ex’s, and careers. Between the heat and wealth of Boca Raton and the hard but humble wards of Milwaukee, Gilbert’s mastery of psychology and technology gradually expose his cast’s many secrets, lies, and personal demons. While Carinda and Ray enjoy a brief, tender respite from reality, dark clouds form with the all-too-easy abuse of law. Selfies’ many tensions and complexities finally unleash the perfect storm. Who will survive and at what cost?

Based on the studies of psychological and legal experts, this book shows how seemingly ordinary family situations can sometimes take dramatic developments. The book is based on the testimony of parents and child victims of family wars through the various stages of the judicial process, through the perspective of the different actors: judges, experts, psychiatrists, psychologists, jurists, and lawyers. It shows the limits of the various forms of intervention in the current legal context in France and draws on the experiences implemented in neighboring countries to advance promising models of intervention. This book is primarily intended for the general public because anyone considering a separation worries about how the children will preserve a relationship with both parents. The purpose of this book is to bring understanding of the phenomena involved in high-conflict parental separation and possible solutions for the protection of children and respect of their rights.

This book describes how professionals handle parental alienation technically and analytically. It reveals the perverse communication strategies and emotional blackmail used by one parent to alienate the child from the other parent; as a result, professionals and parents alike can exercise therapeutic methods to fight against the effects of parental alienation.

Smoke and Mirrors: The Devastating Effect of False Sexual Abuse Claims is an uncompromising examination of how false allegations originate, gather momentum, and too often culminate by ripping apart the lives of innocent people. Dr. Terence Campbell, a nationally recognized authority in the area of forensic psychology, passionately debates how false allegations of sexual abuse can occur anywhere to anyone.

Emotional abuse exists all around us—in families and work. Stalking the Soul is a call to recognize and understand emotional abuse and, most importantly, overcome it. Sophisticated and accessible, it is vital reading for victims and health professionals.

Half of all marriages end, and, when they do, most parents hope to achieve a “good divorce” in which they can amicably raise their children with their former spouse. Unfortunately, about 20% of divorces are high-conflict, involving frequent visits to court, allegations of abuse, and chronic disagreements regarding parenting schedules. In response to this conflict, some children become aligned with one parent against the other – even a parent who has done nothing to warrant the hostile rejection of their formerly loving children. These “targeted” parents suffer from the loss of time with their children, the pain of watching their children become distant, even cruel, and the uncertainty of not knowing if and when their children will come back to them. These parents are on a painful journey with an uncertain outcome. Surviving Parental Alienation fills the tremendous need for concrete help for these parents. Surviving Parental Alienation provides true stories and information about parents who have reconnected with their lost and stolen children, and offers better insight and understanding into what exactly parental alienation is and how to handle it.

Divorce shouldn’t only mean truncated expectations, unfinished projects and bitterness; it should also mean new opportunities and renewed hope. Psychologist José Manuel Aguilar offers the essential divorce guide: what to do-and avoid-once the decision is made.

Joint custody. Same-sex custody. Young children with the mother. Which is the best arrangement? Unfortunately, for those who seek a trustworthy solution, research has proven that there is no single best arrangement for all children. This timely volume, however, does offer a practical and realisic methodology with which to confront the challenging and often confusing issues facing the custody evaluator. The Custody Evaluation Handbook offers a helpful model for evaluating and assigning weight to the mountains of disparate information accumulated during a custody evaluation. The book advocates for a test-based approach that measures how successful each parent actually is at the job of parenting. The book describes numerous tests and tools for eliciting reliable information from both children and parents. The author emphasizes obtaining measurements from the involved child. Parent tests are designed to reflect the effectiveness with which a parent responds to typical childcare situations, and the degree to which a parent truly knows — and can satisfy the needs of — a particular child. Clearly spelling out the targets of a truly comprehensive and reliable evaluation, The Custody Evaluation Handbook will be a valuable book for custody evaluators and marriage and family therapists, as well as other involved mental health professionals.

As the study of the family has expanded, the need for an up-to-date volume that brings together and defines major salient words, phrases and concepts has similarly grown. The updated edition of this unique resource provides an expanded yet compact and handy reference for all practitioners, researchers and students in the fields of family psychology and psychotherapy.

Each entry includes a definition of the term, an example of its use, the origin of the term, an early source using the term and, if pertinent, a recent source. `Borrowed’ terms from other fields such as family law, sex therapy, clinical child psychology and group psychology are also included.

In custody battles over the children of separated parents, the prevailing standard of evaluating what is in the “best interests of the child” has been scrutinized because of the discretionary nature of what is “best” and because of the bias in favor of the child’s residing in one “primary residence.” In response, a consensus is beginning to emerge that it is vitally important that children maintain meaningful relationships with both parents after divorce. In The Equal Parenting Presumption, Edward Kruk proposes a child-focused approach based on a standard that considers the best interests of the child from the perspective of the child and a responsibility-to-needs orientation to social justice for children and families. Challenging previous research and received ideas, Kruk presents an evidence-based framework of equal parental responsibility as the most effective means of ensuring the protection of family relationships following divorce, and shielding children from ongoing parental conflict and family violence.

We are seeing an increase in high conflict, adversarial divorce cases in mental health practices and in the courtrooms around the country. These cases present with a significant amount of parental conflict and, as a consequence, represent a threat to the children caught in the middle of these conflicts. Curiously, there is a great commonality among these cases in terms of the tactics alienators use to separate a parent from his or her children. It is almost as if they, the favored parent, were reading from a published playbook. Parental alienation syndrome (PAS) is acknowledged as being controversial within the mental health profession and equally controversial within the legal profession. It is important for professionals to get a sense of both sides of the PAS issue. Whether one uses PAS as a term, the problems brought by these cases are very real. Whether or not it is the appropriate diagnosis or description of behavior in a case must be determined by facts of that case and supported by evidence and data from multiple sources. An appropriate diagnosis and identification of PAS, along with a description of the severity, can make the difference between timely and effective interventions or allowing parents and children to be scarred for the rest of their lives.

A discussion of the basic facts and skills required for therapists who work with troubled adolescents. This edition is more succinct, but includes new information and updated references. It covers important contemporary issues, such as juvenile violence and adolescent sex offenders.

The Good Karma Divorce is that rare guidebook that offers a concrete path to transforming painful experience into positive action. Family Judge Michele Lowrance, who experienced her parents’ divorce and two of her own, has developed what Karen Mathis, past president of the American Bar Association, describes as an “inspired and uplifting alternative to the agonizing divorce process.” Over the past four years, Judge Lowrance has seen literally one hundred percent of divorcing couples who applied the practices described in The Good Karma Divorce avoid trial. Firmly entrenched in real-world applicability, The Good Karma Divorce is a must-read not only for people in any phase of a divorce, but for psychologists, psychiatrists, attorneys, judges, and social workers, as well.

Children living in separated family situations fare best when their relationship with each of their parents continues to be close. Putting Children First helps mothers and fathers unlock and resolve the conflict around contact with children that can arise during and after separation. Using strategies such as parenting plans, scripted phone calls and parenting meetings, the book will enable parents to communicate effectively on all the most important things in their children’s lives – and make relaxed arrangements for the continued involvement by both parents with their children.

In The High-Conflict Custody Battle, a team of legal and psychology experts present a practical guidebook for people like you who are engaged in a high-conflict custody battle. If you are dealing with an overtly hostile, inflammatory, deceitful, or manipulative ex-spouse, you will learn how to find and work with an attorney and prepare for a custody evaluation. The book also provides helpful tips you can use to defend yourself against false accusations, and gives a realistic portrayal of what to expect during a legal fight.

The dramatic increase in the number of child-custody disputes since the 1970’s has created an equally dramatic need for a standard reference work that examines the growing social problem of children who develop an irrational hatred for a parent as the result of divorce. The International Handbook of Parental Alienation Syndrome features clinical, legal and research perspectives from thirty-two contributors representing views across eight countries, building on the work of the late Dr. Richard Gardner, a pioneer in the theory, practice, diagnosis and treatment of parental alienation syndrome (PAS). This unique title addresses the effects of PAS on parents and children, discusses issues surrounding reconciliation between parent and alicnated child and includes material published for the first time on incidence, gender and false allegations of abuse in PAS.

Anna, the wife of a prominent local attorney, has decided enough is enough. After nearly twenty years of marriage, she realizes she must get free from her controlling spouse. In the process, she loses the only thing that made escaping worthwhile-her children. Despite their joint custody agreement, her ex uses his wiles, wealth, and legal experience to exile Anna from the family. Her once “normal” relationships with her son and daughter mysteriously sour. The system, the law, and her faith in herself all seem to fail her at the same time. While facing the fight of her life, Anna realizes the true meaning of friendship and love.

In this thought-provoking book, Ms. Gottlieb attempts to resolve the controversies surrounding parental alienation syndrome (PAS) by providing substantial empirical evidence from her treatment cases in support of the eight symptoms which child psychiatrist, Richard Gardner, had identified as occurring in the PAS child, and she further exemplifies the commonality of the alienating maneuvers among the alienating parents. Numerous case examples are explored: horrific tales of manufactured child abuse; referrals to child protective services (CPS) resulting in suspension of visits between targeted parents and their children; meritless reports to police alleging domestic violence in support of orders of protection; and exclusionary tactics preventing targeted parents’ involvement in their children’s medical, educational, social lives and activities. Ms. Gottlieb methodically documents that PAS is a form of emotional child abuse of the severest kind. The author provides an unprecedented number of treatment summaries, which demonstrate the effectiveness of structural family therapy in treating the PAS family. This book will be an excellent resource for: parents who are divorcing or are in conflict, adult victims of PAS, judges, law guardians, matrimonial attorneys, therapists, child protective personnel, law enforcement — and for the professional rescuer who believes that a child must be saved from a parent.

This thought-provoking study is about love — the kind of love that parents can give or withhold from their children. The warmth dimension of parenting is characterized by parental acceptance at one end and by parental rejection at the other. This work examines the antecedents, consequences, and correlates of these phenomena in the United States and across many cultures. A vital question is posed: What gives some children the capacity to cope with perceived parental rejection more effectively than most children? The problematic relationship between perceived parental rejection and child abuse and neglect is also discussed. The author breaks new ground by offering a theoretical foundation posited in his parental acceptance-rejection theory (PARTheory) for the study of these and other issues.

In addition to summarizing national, international, and cross-cultural comparative (holocultural) data collected by researchers over half a century, the book lays out PARTheory’s epistemological assumptions and postulates. The Warmth Dimension offers valuable insights for multidisciplinary audiences in academic, research, and practitioner-oriented settings. Raising many important but heretofore unanswered questions, this book contributes substantially toward a common conceptualization and vocabulary for the many disciplines dealing with families and children in jeopardy of child maltreatment.

This novel involves parental alienation in its story line. Art gallerist Sarah Paige’s world is crumbling. One daughter barely speaks to her and the other is off the rails. Sarah is struggling to keep her gallery afloat in a tough market when she learns that her most beloved friend has cancer. In the midst of her second divorce, two men come into her life: an older man who offers companionship and stability and an exciting younger man whose life is as chaotic as hers. Sarah’s courage, humor, and spirit strengthen her, but how much can she bear, and what sustains her when all else falls away?

A harrowing and heartbreaking true story of international child abduction by the wife of the former British ambassador to the United States. This book is Catherine Meyer’s page-turning, play-by-play account of a living nightmare, the story of the determination of one woman fighting for her children and of the inadequacy of current international laws against child abduction, which fail to protect either parents or children against the occurrence of this kind of tragedy. In the process of pleading internationally for the right to be with her children, Meyer met and married British diplomat Christopher Meyer, providing a happy turn-of-events, if not quite a happy ending, to this story.

In the 1980s, Dr. Richard A. Gardner, a child and forensic psychiatrist, championed a child custody litigation phenomenon called Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS). Since that time, the PAS phenomenon has gained increased recognition in both the mental health and legal fields. For well over four decades, parental divorce has been determined as the cause of a variety of significant physical, emotional, academic, and social difficulties in children and adolescents. Moreover, high-conflict between divorcing or divorced parents, including the PAS phenomenon, is a noteworthy risk factor for children and adolescents. This workbook is the first of its kind for alienated parents and is divided into three parts. Part One will provide the knowledge and understanding you need to personally deal with the ramifications of PAS or to help those who do. Thus, from a broad perspective this book is written for a wide array of readers including those directly affected by PAS as well as for extended family members, significant others, counselors, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, child custody evaluators, family mediators, general practitioners, pediatricians, family law lawyers, judiciary, police officers, school administrators, school teachers, and policy makers.

Understanding Parental Alienation is intended for parents who are living through a nightmare, the loss of their relationship with a child, which seems impossible to understand and extremely frustrating to turn around. This book provides a balance of theoretical background and practical hands-on information to guide both parents and practitioners through this devastating phenomenon. The authors relate their understanding of the causes of parental alienation, the manifestations of this serious mental health condition, and interventions that are likely to be helpful in the short-term and the long-term. The book is written in a readable, engaging manner interspersed with interesting case vignettes. The authors provide practical advice on preparing for court including how to develop a chronology of events and how to prepare a written submission, even down to choosing a writing style that is most likely to be read by the judge. Specific guidance is also provided on how to help alienated children heal through reunification.

Where Did I Go Wrong? How Did I Miss The Signs? is a prevention and intervention resource tool for parents, courts, attorney’s, counselors, agencies and anyone else who needs help with high conflict divorce and relationships. From start to finish, this book talks about divorce, marriage, hostile aggressive parenting during and after a divorce, how to deal with this, and help the children to thrive. From cover to cover, this book is filled with information to help stop the snowball affect of high conflict divorce, hostile aggressive parenting, all of which leads to the psychological abuse of the children by destroying their relationship with one of their parents or another relative. It is the hope that this book can help prevent this abuse from happening and help these families to move forward in a healthy, positive and successful way. All proceeds from this book go to Pas Intervention, a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

Come inside the mind, thoughts, and feelings of a dog with a wise old soul, very focused on helping and healing the humans in my life. Follow me through several homes where you will meet families and friends I have lived with, loved, prayed for, taught and learned from. Laugh, cry and love with me on my journey from Georgia to the Northeast to find Madolyn and help heal her breaking heart. Through my relationship and travels with her, I also touch the hearts and souls of her friends, while my own heart literally breaks and bleeds. But I’m comforted with the assurance I’m where I’m supposed to be, doing what I’m supposed to do, and that with my Madolyn, love always flows freely in both directions. Some say dogs come back as humans in their next life, and some people say all dogs go to Heaven, and both are partially correct. We sometimes go to Heaven, and we sometimes come back, but not as humans! We begin life with a love of humans already in us and and because love should always be a two way street, our baby canine noses can always smell whether people have the scent of the love of dogs on them or not.

This edited volume is written by and for mental health professionals who work directly with alienated children and their parents. The chapters are written by leaders in the field, all of whom know how vexing parental alienation can be for mental health professionals.

No matter how the professional intersects with families affected by alienation, be it through individual treatment, reunification therapy, a school setting, or support groups, he or she needs to consider how to make proper assessments, how to guard against bias, and when and how to involve the court system, among other challenges.

The cutting edge clinical interventions presented in this book will help professionals answer these questions and help them to help their clients. The authors present a range of clinical options such as parent education, psycho-educational programs for children, and reunification programs for children and parents that make this volume a useful reference and practical guide.